odie1

Here is my revised itinerary. My airlines are set now, we used miles and are trying to use points for hotels as well (just returned from two weeks in Patagonia, so budget is a little tight and I originally thought I would have until November to take on additional travel costs).
Here are my two options (I would be using points for hotels in Uru and Cusco)

Day 1-JFK-CUZ, arrive 3:00 taxi to Uru (stay at Tabbo del Inka)
2-Uru (Maras Moray, Chinchero)
3-Uru (Awakami tour)
4-Aguas Calientes-one day inca trek
5-Olly (all day at MP)
6-Olly (town and ruins)
7-Cusco (taxi via pisac, cochaus, etc)
8-cusco (town) *This is Easter Sunday
9- cusco (?)
10-11:50 flight to Lima

Could also do two nights Uru and bump the inca trek up a day and then stay in Olly for three nights, and/or add a second night to Aguas

or

Day 1-JFK-CUZ, arrive 3:00 taxi to Olly
2-Olly (town and ruins)
3-Olly (Awakami tour)
4-Aguas Calientes-one day inca trek
5-travel all the way back to Cusco (all day at MP)
6-Cusco (town)
7-Cusco (Maras Moray, Chinchero)
8-cusco (Pisac, coschaus, etc) *This is Easter Sunday
9- cusco (?-trying to set up some cultural immersion program)
10-11:50 flight to Lima

Thanks for your help

crellston

Either works pretty well but I would go for option 2, mainly because I prefer Ollantaytambo to Urumbamba. Travelling all the way back to Cusco will, i presume be by train? I suppose the alternative is to get the train to Ollantaytambo and then bus or taxi to Cusco.

Moray Maras and Chinchero are all on the way between Cusco and Ollantaytambo and so could easily be incorporated int the trip between the two, either on the way or way back, rather than as a separate day trip, leaving more time for other places.

Easter Sunday in Cusco should be a great spectacle on the plaza del armas in Cusco or in Pisac. Although, I imagine the latter will be very crowded. Bag a spot in Paddys or Norton bars on the plaza and watch the world go by!

odie1

OK, once agan, I have changed plans...I don;t know why I am having so much difficulty with this...
April 9-JFK-arrive CUZ 3:00PM/transfer to Olly by taxi
10-Olly-ruins and town
11-Aguas Calientes-Inca Trek
12-Olly (all day Machu Picchu)
13-CUZ (Maras, Moray Chinecheros on the way)
14-CUZ spa visit and town
15-CUZ-Visit to Amaru community (been trying to book with Awakami)
16-CUZ *Easter Sunday-town festivities and Pisac
17-CUZ- ?
18-11:50 flight to LIM-sleep for a bit at Marriott
19-6:00 AM flight back to States

crellston-What time would one need to be at Paddy's or Nortons? Is one better than the other?

yestravel

I htink your itiin looks fine. I was thinking Easter Sunday should be quite the spectacle and perhaps Good Friday too.
When we were there people got off the train at Olly when coming from MP. They then took taxis or other transport to Cusco. As I recall people said it took much longer to stay on the train to Cusco. We stayed in Olly.

Are you going to Pisac to see the market? We stayed a night or 2 in Pisac on non market days and quite enjoyed it. The ruins there are great. I worry that going on Easter Sunday it could be a zoo. I heard market day is very crowded & add in Easter.

We used David Choque for our guide. He truly enriched our visit. One day he took us outside Cusco to Tipon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipón which was empty, pretty & very interesting, to a village where they bake bread and to see an atzec wall. It was fascinating to see the difference between what the Incas bult and the Atzecs. The drive into the countryside was really nice. David, of course, added wonderful dialogue about the history, culture and area.

odie1

yestravel-I had thought about two days in Pisac but wasn't too sure about that. The Pisac Inn looks like our kind of place.
Thanks so much for the info on David. I sent him an email last night and read up on him from others here. He sounds like a great guy. We usually don;t do "tours" but have hired drivers/guides in a couple of places (Costa Rica and Greece) and they turned out well. I'm hoping to hear back from him soon!

yestravel

That's where we stayed and really liked hanging out in Pisac. We had taken a very early flight from Arequipa to Cusco, got picked up by David and he drove us to Pisac. (That wasn't really necessary you can take a bus or pick up a taxi.) We just hung around the town the first day and then went to the ruins on the second day. It was a quiet, nice laidback town. The market had maybe 1/3-½ the vendors and you could chat with them without a mob scene.

David was wonderful! His English is perfect and he's a wealth of information. We had already booked our hotels by the time I contacted him. He went to each of the places and made sure they were ok and that we would be taken care of. Like you we only occasionally use guides & David rates right up their with the best. He was the first guide we ever used like that. We probably had him more than we needed for driving us, but he was delightful company and as I said really added to the understanding of the country.

mlgb

I wouldn't if I had to pay, but since you have points I think it would be fine to stay the first night or two in Urubamba, assuming it covers all your costs. Location-wise it's on the way between Ollantay and Cusco. It's free, use it for a rest up day. It also is convenient for touring Moray, Salineras and Chinchero, It sounds like Awamaki isn't able to confirm a tour yet?, (they don't do it every day and it can be demand=based) there are other options, e.g. Chinchero weaving demos and there is also a "potato park". above Pisac and tours where you can visit Chahuaytire
http://www.parquedelapapa.org/eng/04paketes_02.html

I would think David can manage a cultural tours if Awamaki isn't able to confirm one.

Note that many of these weaving villages (Patacancha, Chahuaytire) are high altitude and COLD in June.

Re Pisac.. I enjoy the walk down from the ruins, also the town has a colonial "horno" worth a visit. Like all of the SV, it's gotten very touristy and in terms of shopping the market won't have much that isn't mass produced any more. You can probably find the same things in Aguas Calientes and Cusco, and even Olly had a tourist market. On Sundays Pisac is worthy for seeing the produce section and the locals eg from the villages arriving at 10:30 for the Quechua mass, But if you have Easter Sunday in Cusco that might also give you the local color, and Weds is the market day in Urubamba.

If you are using a private guide he should be able to get you a cultural excursion/experience that fits with your schedule.

yestravel

We were in Pisac mid week and maybe 10 tourists in the town. I do remember a few more visiting the ruins, but the town was definitely empty. We scheduled MP on a Sunday with the hopes that many would go to the markets that day. We actually did not have a crowded day at MP. This was maybe 6 years ago, so like everywhere, things may have changed.

mlgb

Yeah, you have no idea...